IllustrationTHE TRANSMISSION FAILED. YH
1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 525.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Silverado 1500 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
60–25K
1725–50K
2850–75K
3975–100K
35100–150K
22150K+
147 reports with mileage · 408 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 140 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 123 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Visibility. Review the 75 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
29 crash reports13 fire reports13 injury reports
Steering complaints
140 reportsSTEERING HAS BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE THE TRUCK WAS NEW. DEALER HASN'T FIXED IT. WHEN TURNING SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT THE STEERING WHEEL JERKS TO THE RIGHT CAUSING TEMPORARY LOSS OF CONTROL.
CHECK STEERING WANDER AT HWY SPEEDS, REPLACED STEERING EVO SENSOR ASSEMBLY
WHEN TURNING STEERING WHEEL IT JUMPED, CAUSING DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL TEMPORARILY. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER AND THEY PUT A PINION ROD ON, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE PROBLEM. *AK
EVO SENSOR ASSEMBLY FAILURE CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO WANDER. YH
WHILE DRIVING AT 50 MPH STEERING WHEEL IS VERY LOOSE, CAUSING ERRATIC POWER STEERING OR LOSS STEERING CONTROL. CONSUMER FEELS THIS IS VERY SCARY, AND AVOIDS DRIVING VEHICLE. ALSO, ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM HAS POOR BRAKING PERFORMANCE. *AK
POWER STEERING PUMP WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING. DEALER HAS REPAIRED VEHICLE. *AK
I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH MY CHEVROLET TRUCK. AT 31,000, MILES THE REAR LEAF SPRINGS WENT BAD. AT 41,000 MILES THE BRAKE MASTER CYLENDER AND PITTMAN ARM AND IDLER ARM ASSEMBLIES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. BEING THAT IT WAS OVER THE WARRANTY PERIOD, I DID NOT TAKE IT TO A CHEVEROLET DEALER INCURRING THE COST MYSELF. AT 49…
Read full complaint
I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH MY CHEVROLET TRUCK. AT 31,000, MILES THE REAR LEAF SPRINGS WENT BAD. AT 41,000 MILES THE BRAKE MASTER CYLENDER AND PITTMAN ARM AND IDLER ARM ASSEMBLIES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. BEING THAT IT WAS OVER THE WARRANTY PERIOD, I DID NOT TAKE IT TO A CHEVEROLET DEALER INCURRING THE COST MYSELF. AT 49,000 MILES THE REAR U JOINT NEEDED REPAIR. AT THIS POINT, I STARTED TO BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS MORE TO THIS PROBLEM WITH THE TRUCK AS THESE PARTS DO NOT USUALLY NEED REPAIR AT SUCH LOW MILAGE. TO TOP IT OFF, AT 51,000 THE TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED.
STEERING IS DEFECTIVE. WHEN DRIVING AT 40- 50 MPH STEERING WHEEL JERKS AND HESITATES, AND TURNS TO THE LEFT. *AK
WAS DRIVING VEHICLE & WOULD MAKE TURN AROUND ON CORNER OR CURB AND VEHICLE WOULD SUDDENLY OVERSTEER BY ITSELF. LATER ,IT WOULD STRAIGHTEN UP ON ITS OWN. DID NOT LOSE CONTROL OF VEHICLE. PROBLEM WOULD BE INTERMITTENT. TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER & WAS INFORMED BY MECHANIC OF NO RECALLS. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.